British MP George Galloway was
refused entry to Canada on the pretext that he
supported Hamas, which is categorized by the
Canadian government as a "terrorist
organization."
Contrary to what has been reported in
the media, this was not a unilateral decision
by the government of Canada.
In all likelihood, the decision was taken in close
consultation with Israel under the terms of a farreaching
agreement on "public security" signed in Tel Aviv
on March 23 2008. The "Declaration of Intent"
establishes a framework of bilateral cooperation
between Canada and Israel in the area of "Public
Security". The agreement has not been the object
of debate in the Canadian parliament, nor has it
received media coverage.
Under the proposed agreement, the Deputy Minister
of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of
Canada is in liason with his Israeli counterpart
the Director General of Public Security for the
Government of the State of Israel. Together they
chair a joint Management Committee.
The terms reference of the Canada-Israel
"Declaration" are extremely broad. They include
issues of immigration and ethnic profiling, the
management of borders, intelligence and the
exchange of information, emergency preparedness,
correctional services, prisons, law enforcement
and counter-terrorism. The agreement allows for
officials from the State of Israel, to play a role
in Canadian "public security" including border
security and immigration.
The important question is whether Israeli
officials were present in Canada and whether they
were assisting their Canadian counterparts with
regard to the decision to bar George Galloway.
The article below provides detailed information on
the nature of this Canadian-Israeli project.
Also see text of agreement in ANNEX,
Michel Chossudovsky, March 26, 2009
The Canada-Israel "Public Security"
Agreement
Ottawa & Tel Aviv collaborate in counter-terrorism
& Homeland security
by
Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research,
April 2, 2008
Canada and
Israel have signed a far-reaching public security
cooperation agreement.
The agreement, described as a
"Partnership", involves a "Declaration of Intent"
by the two governments. The Declaration was signed
in Tel Aviv on March 23:
"Today,
the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public
Safety Canada and Avi Dicter, Minister of Public
Security of the Government of the State of
Israel, signed a Declaration of Intent to
enhance cooperation in the area of public
safety.
“The
Government of Canada is committed to enhancing
the security of Canadians – both through our
actions at home and with our international
partners.” said Minister Day. “Today's
declaration demonstrates the longstanding
cooperation between Canada and Israel on public
safety issues, and we welcome this increased
cooperation in order to improve our countries'
capacity to protect our citizens.”
This
declaration will allow Canada and Israel to
better enhance cooperation in the areas of
organized crime, emergency management, crime
prevention, and other related public safety
concerns. The declaration seeks to establish a
more structured framework for the continued
cooperation on public safety issues between
Canada and Israel.
“The
Declaration of Intent is an opportunity for
Canada and Israel to strengthen their commitment
to safeguarding their citizens and respective
national interests from common threats,” said
Minister Dicter." (
http://www.ps-sp.gc.ca/app_support/xml/ps_news_e.xml)
Cheney Mission to the Middle
East Shrouded in Secrecy
Canada's Minister of Public
Safety Stockwell Day was in Israel on the same day
as Vice Cheney Dick Cheney.
Coincidentally, a US mission
led by Secretary of Homeland Security Michael
Chertoff was also in Israel on official business,
as guest of Israel's Minister of Public Security,
Avi Dicter. There are no reports on
Canada-US-Israeli consultations during these
official visits. In all likelihood, officials from
the respective departments/ministries of US
Homeland Security, Israel's Public Security and
Canada's Public Safety had meetings behind closed
doors.
Terms of Reference of the
Partnership
Israel's Ministry of Public
Security carries out public security, law
enforcement activities. It is also in charge
of the operation of Israel's prisons, which are in
large part used to detain Palestinians.
Canada's Ministry of Public
Safety, established in 2003, is a copy and paste
version of US Homeland Security. Public Safety
Canada has a close bilateral relationship with US
Homeland Security.
Public Safety Canada works closely with several
government agencies including the Canada Border
Services Agency (CBSA), The Canadian Security
Intelligence Service (CSIS), Correctional Service
Canada (CSC) and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP). Officials from these agencies have no
doubt been consulted regarding the terms of
reference of the Israel-Canada declaration.
The terms reference of the
Canada-Israel Declaration are extremely broad.
They include issues of immigration and ethnic
profiling, the management of borders, intelligence
and the exchange of information, emergency
preparedness, correctional services, prisons, law
enforcement and counter-terrorism.
The Declaration of Intent
involves the setting up of a close bilateral
cooperation arrangement at the ministerial level.
A management committee has been set up under the
helm of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and
Emergency Preparedness of Canada, and the Director
General of Public Security of the State of Israel.
Senior Israeli and Canadian
officials respectively from Israel's Ministry of
Public Security and from various Canadian federal
departments and agencies (including the RCMP, CSIS
and CBSA), which are under the jurisdiction of
Stockwell Day's ministry would carry out "an
approved program of work".
The programme would be
implemented by a Senior Coordinator from each
country, namely, the Assistant Deputy Minister
(Strategic Policy) for Canada's Department of
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the
Deputy Director General of Israel's Ministry of
Public Security of the State of Israel;
Nature of the
Agreement
The agreement requires the two countries to "[b]uild
on their shared commitment to facilitate and
enhance cooperation to protect their respective
countries' population, assets and interests from
common threats".
What type of border security
and control of immigrants is involved?
How does this impinge upon
Canada's immigration procedures?
The agreement appears to be
built upon a much broader agreement between Canada
and the US in the area of Homeland Security.
However, it also replicates the pattern of a
February 2006 agreement reached between US
Homeland Security and Israel's Ministry of Public
Security
The Israel-Canada agreement
has been in the pipeline since Israel's Public
Security Minister Avi Dicter's October 2007 visit
to the US and Canada. Avi Dicter met Stockwell Day
last October in Toronto "with the intention on
establishing cooperation on homeland security" and
counter-terrorism.
Israel is not part of North
America. Canada and Israel do not share a common
border. So what is the underlying agenda?
Will Canada assist Israel in
policing its border with Lebanon, Syria and the
Palestinian territories?
Conversely, will Israeli
officials assist Canada in ethnic profiling of
people (including biometric applications, which is
mentioned in the agreement) who visit Canada from
the Middle East?
Will Israeli officials have access to confidential
files of Canadians?
What type of cooperation is
envisaged in the areas of prisons and law
enforcement? Interrogation techniques? Are Israeli
consultants going to help us reorganize our
correctional services?
The agreement would allow
officials from the State of Israel, a country on
record for its numerous human rights violations
acts directed against the people of Palestine and
Lebanon, to play a role in Canadian public
security. In this regard, will Israeli officials
assist the RCMP and CSIS in the profiling of
Canadians citizens who are Muslims. This ethnic
profiling is already applied at Canadian airports.
Will Israeli officials assist
their Canadian counterparts in dealing with
individuals and/or organizations in Canada
involved in supporting the rights of
Palestinians. Will Israeli officials assist their
Canadian counterparts in the domestic "war on
terrorism", which in the post 9/11 period has led
to numerous arbitrary detentions on trumped-up
charges.
At the same time, the
Declaration establishes a de facto complicit
relationship whereby Canadian officials (RCMP,
etc) would contribute to assisting Israel in its
domestic police and border activities (e.g.
Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank), not under
the auspices of the United Nations, but directly
in cooperation with Israeli police and security
officials.
In fact, Canada's "contribution" to the policing
of Israel's borders with Gaza and the West Bank is
already part of a 300 million dollar aid package
in support of the "peace process". According to
Public Safety Canada, "a significant component
[of the 300 million will be] devoted to security,
including policing and public order
capacity-building. This five year commitment will
go towards the creation of a democratic,
accountable, and viable Palestinian state that
lives in peace and security alongside Israel." (Marketwire,
Ottawa, March 24, 2008)
Following his meeting with his counterpart Avi
Dicter, Stockwell Day had meetings on the 24th of
March in the West Bank with President Mahmoud
Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, where
issues pertaining to Canada's peace package,
including police training and capacity building
were discussed. "I was pleased to meet with
Palestinian Authority President Abbas and Prime
Minister Fayyad to discuss public safety issues of
mutual interest," said Minister Day. Stockwell Day
also visited a West Bank prison as well as a
police training center in Jericho. (Ibid)
Under the Declaration of Intent, Canada cannot
exercise "neutrality" with regard to the
Palestinian process. Canada would act as a partner
of Israel in all issues of public security in the
occupied territories. Moreover, Canadian support
channelled to the US-Israeli sponsored Palestinian
regime of Mahmoud Abbas will be used to repress
Hamas, which is the duly elected government. It
will contribute to worsening the situation in the
occupied territories.
Counter-terrorism and Homeland Security
The issue of "counter-terrorism" is not mentioned
explicitly in the Declaration of Intent. The terms
of reference, however, suggest that the "war on
terrorism" is an integral part of the agreement.
In early February 2007, Minister Avi Dicter
addressed the public security committee of the
Canadian House of Commons: "Iran is the largest
terrorist state in the world" Dichter said. In his
discussion with Canadian MPs, Dichter "laid out
what he believes to be the guidelines for
Canadian-Israeli security cooperation in the
future, possibly similar to the agreement that the
minister signed a day later in Washington DC."
(Jerusalem Post, 7 February 2007)
"The Canadian MPs echoed
their American compatriots in addressing the
former Shin Bet head as a world expert in the
field of terror rather than as a visiting minister
of a foreign government, asking him at one point
what specific steps the parliament could take to
prevent terror attacks on Canadian soil. In his
answer, Dichter reiterated the importance of
strengthening border security and use of proper
investigative methods with suspects." (ibid)
During a followup official visit of Israel's
Minister of Public Security Avi Dicter to Canada
in late October 2007, meetings of Israeli and
Canadian officials were held behind closed doors
to discuss a blueprint for cooperation in the
areas of homeland security and counter-terrorism.
The meetings chaired by Stockwell Day were held in
Toronto on October 29, 2007. A so-called
"Arrangement Paper" was to be drafted with a view
to defining "the actions of the competent
structures at ministerial, central and
subordinate/local levels for preventing and
fighting home land securities issues":
"The
parties have agreed to intensify future
cooperation by identifying ways of direct
communication in order to maximize the exchange
of information, technology and operational
activity. For the same reason it has been agreed
to accelerate negotiations for the signing of an
Arrangement Paper between the two Ministries on
cooperation in home land security and counter
terrorism issues which falls within the
responsibility of the respective Ministries.
...
Negotiations on the arrangement paper mentioned
above will take place as necessary. The signing
of the arrangement paper will be held on an
occasion and place coordinated in advance
between the Ministries.
The two Ministers agreed that by early November
three work teams will be established in order to
promote the cooperation between the two
ministries on the following subjects: •
Counterterrorism and Crime • Emergency
preparedness • Border crossing security,
focusing on biometric identification"
(Official communique of Israel's Ministry of
Public Security,
The "Arrangement paper"
refers to the draft text of The Declaration of
Intent, which was signed in Tel Aviv on March 23,
2008. The two governments chose to sign the
agreement during a week of intense diplomatic
activity in Tel Aviv, involving the concurrent
visits of the Vice President of the US, the US
Secretary of the Department Homeland Security
Michael Chertoff, Secretary of State Condoleeza
Rice and other senior officials.
The final text of the Declaration of Intent
remains vague. "Counter-terroism" and the
"Homeland" are not explicitly mentioned in the
final text of the Declaration signed on March
23.
Legal Implications
The text of the Declaration of Intent states that
":{it] is not intended to create legally binding
obligations, under either domestic or
international law. Yet, at the outset, it violates
several fundamental principles of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
The Canada-Israel Public Security agreement has
barely been mentioned by the Canadian media.
It has not been the object of a debate in
parliament. Why has this issue not been brought to
the forefront of public debate? Why has the
parliamentary opposition remained mum on the
subject?
It should be forcefully challenged in Canada's
courts.
Public Safety Canada March
23, 2008
Declaration of Intent Between
the Department of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness of Canada and the Ministry of Public
Security of the Government of the State of Israel
The Department of Public
Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada and
the Ministry of Public Security of the Government
of the State of Israel, declare their intent:
1. To prioritize and manage
cooperation in the following areas within the
responsibility of the Ministries:
1. Border management and
security, including biometric applications;
2. Correctional services and
prisons;
3. Crime prevention;
4. Critical infrastructure
protection;
5. Emergency management;
6. Illegal immigration;
7. Law enforcement
cooperation;
8. Money laundering;
9. Organized crime;
10. Terrorist financing; and
11. Trafficking in persons.
2. To achieve the following
objectives:
1. Build on their shared
commitment to facilitate and enhance cooperation
to protect their respective countries' population,
assets and interests from common threats;
2. Integrate and coordinate
of the identification, prioritization, and
implementation of cooperative efforts between
themselves in the area of public safety;
3. Manage the delivery of
approved cooperative activities within the scope
of this Declaration;
4. Establish of clear lines
of communication and points of contact between
themselves as part of an ongoing process of
dialogue and partnership in pursuing common goals;
5. Share knowledge,
experience, expertise, information, research, and
best practices;
6. Identify and share public
safety concerns on the basis of threats, risk
assessments, priorities, vulnerabilities, and
consequences; and
7. Facilitate technical
exchange cooperation, including education,
training, and exercises.
3. To establish a Management
Committee that would:
1. Be comprised of the Deputy
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness of Canada, and the Director General
of Public Security for the Government of the State
of Israel;
2. Meet annually and as
needed to develop and approve a program of work,
consistent with the scope and objectives of this
Declaration, for that upcoming year;
3. Evaluate and approve
progress and results of activities carried out
under this Declaration from the previous year;
4. Identify officials from
the Ministry of Public Security of the Government
of the State of Israel and from the department and
agencies for which the Minister of Public Safety
and Emergency Preparedness of Canada is
responsible, to carry out, within specific
timeframes, each of the items in the approved
program of work;
5. Be supported by a Senior
Coordinator, namely, the Assistant Deputy Minister
(Strategic Policy) for the Department of Public
Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada, and
the Deputy Director General for the Ministry of
Public Security of the Government of the State of
Israel; and
6. Have the Senior
Coordinators ensure the delivery of the approved
program of work and recommend new activities for
the Committee's approval.
4. To bear respectively the
costs that they each incur for performing,
managing, and administering its activities under
this Declaration;
5. To ensure the appropriate
protection of all information, knowledge,
expertise, etc. that is exchanged between them
against any unauthorized access, alteration,
publication, or dissemination; and
6. To protect any
information, knowledge, expertise, etc. that is
exchanged between them against disclosure to any
third party with the same degree of care as they
each exercise with their own information,
knowledge, expertise, etc. of a similar nature;
It is understood that:
This Declaration is not
intended to duplicate or supersede any existing
arrangements between any departments and/or
agencies of the Government of Canada and the
Government of Israel; and
This Declaration is not
intended to create legally binding obligations,
under either domestic or international law.
Signed
in duplicate at Tel Aviv, this 23rd day of
March, 2008, which corresponds to the 16th day
of Adar b'5768, in the English, French, and
Hebrew languages with all texts being equally
valid.
FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS OF CANADA
FOR THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY OF THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL